To Decapitate the Hive
Objectives * Primary Objective: Eliminate the Hive Tyrant Walkthrough This walkthrough assumes Primarch difficulty and Capital Spire location. When preparing for this mission, note the "large, heavily armored creatures" part. This means Carnifexes, about a dozen of them. This, in turn, means a missile launcher will make your life easier. You can do without, but it can feel a bit oppressing, especially when you trigger two at the same time. Anyhow, Tarkus (plasma gun) and Avitus (heavy bolter) can and will defeat a Carnifex if another unit can lead it around a little. Another option is to lure it on one of Cyrus's remote detonation bombs, which will almost kill it at once. You should start by clearing the bottom half of the map for XP and wargear drops. Other than the occasional Carnifex, the rest is pretty standard here. Zoanthropes and venom cannon Warriors deserve a High-Powered Shot or an Assault Jump before they can ruin your day. Lictors are dangerous to melee, so the ranged option is better. If you have Cyrus, scout ahead to avoid surprises. There are some Hive Nodes mostly in the central area that are easiest to handle with infiltration and explosives. At the stairs between the twin bridge and the central beacon, there are some hidden Raveners waiting to ruin your day. Trigger them with a melee unit while your ranged squads wait aside. Before moving to the boss area (yellow objective marker), remember to capture an asset and break open any supply crates you find. If you have Cyrus, sneak in and clear the arena of critters with a remote detonation charge before moving in and triggering the Hive Tyrant. The Tyrant itself is a surprisingly wimpy boss. It has a ranged attack and a charge attack, but these have ample warning and are very easy to evade. It stands still a lot when performing its special attacks, allowing you to use explosives and melee it from behind. It is very slow and easy to dance around while Tarkus and Avitus whittle it down. You can also use the remote detonation pack technique here. It does seem to have some sort of a self-centered area of effect attack that you should watch out for. When the Tyrant gets lower on health, it will summon smaller Tyranids a couple of times. When this happens, evade the Tyrant for a bit while concentrating on the mob. If you're willing to take the time, it is even possible to solo the boss with Cyrus alone. Send his squad in alone, under stealth, and the boss will remain motionless without attacking. High Powered Shot and Remote Detonation Charges can be used without breaking stealth. When the lesser swarms spawn, wait for them to move away from the tyrant, place a remote charge near the tyrant, and then detonate it after they move back to him. Regain energy by moving outside the arena to unstealth, and refill expendable items by using Demolition Charges on the supply boxes inside the arena. Category:Dawn of War II missions